A Different Kind of Magic
by Silvernight22
Summary: Not all magic involved spells and enchantments. Sometimes love itself was enough to break even the most powerful of curses. Based on the film by Hayao Miyazaki. (Oc x Howl)
1. Prologue

"Hey mom, is dinner ready yet?" I asked anxiously as I tried to look into the big pot that hung over the growing fire.

"Patience, Gwen, why don't you help me set the table first?" Mom replied as she stirred the contents of the giant black bowl.

I ran over to the cupboard and got the bowls and plates. I heard the familiar sound of the front door opening.

"Daddy's home!" I yelled as I grabbed a handful of silverware from the drawer and placed it on the table.

"Huh?" Mom asked just as the front door opened.

"I'm home!" Dad called as he entered the kitchen, "Mm, smells good," Dad said as he kissed my mom on the cheek.

"Ugh! Guys!" I whined at the public display of affection. They just chuckled.

"How was work honey?" Mom asked politely as she ladled the delicious stew she had just made into the three awaiting bowls.

He groaned and said, "Relentless. The royal capital of Kingsbury is really starting to get on my nerves."

Dad worked as the head priest of a pacifist organisation at the church. We live in a small town just near the foot of the grassy mountains. It was a peaceful village; one that was against war and magic. Dad spent most of his time at the church conveying his pacifist views and the entire town was in full support of him. Kingsbury was a bustling town just east of here. The King of the capital had begun to focus more attention on his military power. Rumour had it that he'd even started a royal sorcery academy in hopes that it would help strengthen his militia. With all these new changes happening in the capital, dad had to work extra hard to make sure our peaceful views are continuing to be acknowledged.

"It's alright dad, everything will be fine." I encouraged. Dad smiled warmly as mom sat down.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's dig in!" mom said heartily as we all dug into our dinners.

We were sitting there talking and laughing about our day when suddenly, out of nowhere, a jolt of pain stabbed through my brain and I cried out. My brain felt swollen, as if something was being forced into it. An image quickly swam to the surface of my mind as I tried to make sense of what was happening. My eyes were open but I saw something completely different in my head. My mom looked at me, concern written on her face. However, in my mind, she was moving to get seconds from the pot hanging over the fire. I stared in shock as the wooden stand snapped and the black pot hit the floor, burning my mom in the process. The image left as fast as it came. I found myself staring at the worried faces of my parents.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" mom asked as I tried frantically to comprehend what I just saw. I nodded slowly as I rubbed my temples.

"Yeah," I replied quietly, "it's just a headache."

"Here, you need to eat more, you're too skinny." Mom fretted as she reached over and grabbed my empty bowl.

I watched in wonder as my mom got up to go get seconds… She traced the exact same steps she took in my mind. Everything was happening according to what I saw. It was as if mom was replaying the scene that flashed through my head.

"Stop!" I yelled as I raced towards her, toppling my chair in the process.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Mom's hands reaching towards the ladle in the pot, me shoving her away from the danger zone, the cracking sound of the stand as it gave way, and of course, the echoing _thunk_ of the pot as it hit the floor.

Stew was sprayed everywhere as I stood transfixed by the mess before me. Mom stared at me wide eyed while my dad looked at me with his spoon held in midair, mouth agape.

Silence screamed in the room.

"T-there was a c-crack in the stand." I whispered shakily.

Mom looked at me like I was an alien.

"You couldn't have known," She breathed, "but you did."

"I saw it… in my mind… during my headache…" I said uncertainly.

"You couldn't have known," mom repeated with a strained voice, "but you saw it… before it happened."

"I saw it…" I said slowly, "the future… in my head."

Dad got up from his chair and walked cautiously over to us, eyeing me warily.

"Dear," he called out as he tugged at my mom's clothes, "move away from it."

I watched horrified as my parents distanced themselves from me – or rather it. The change happened too fast, I couldn't keep up with it. One second, I was their loving daughter Gwendolyn, and the next second, I was a complete stranger – a foreigner. The time it took for me to change from 'her' to 'it' was staggering.

"Who are you?" mom hissed.

I stared, tears of desperation forming in my eyes.

"It's me, mom, Gwen, your daughter." I cried as they moved further away from me.

"The witch has taken the form of our daughter," dad said with venom.

Mom buried her head in my father's shoulder and sobbed with despair, "a monster has taken over my daughter."

"Mom, dad, what are you talking about! I'm right here!" I yelled, tears falling from my eyes as the frustration I felt continued to build.

"Don't lie, you freak of nature!" Dad boomed, "Our town does not welcome freaks and furthermore, I will not harbour a witch as a daughter."

"But daddy," I choked, "I am your daughter."

"You are not our daughter!" dad bellowed, "As the head priest I have a responsibility for keeping this town safe and you are indefinitely a hazard to this tranquil village. Get out, NOW!"

I stood, tears falling freely from my eyes as I looked pitifully at my parents – ex-parents.

"Leave!" mom screamed as I jumped from the harsh sound, "We don't know you! Just get away from us! Please!"

My parents stood, holding each other protectively, as realization sunk in. They couldn't have a witch as their daughter. Not if my dad was such a big part of the pacifist organization. If people found out, we'd be chased out of town. It's not that they didn't know I was their daughter, it's just they couldn't have me as one. Not with this new found ability, it's too much of a risk.

Finally understanding this uncanny situation, I bowed my head and ran. I ran out of the kitchen, out of the house I've known my entire life, out of the peaceful village but most importantly out of my parent's lives.

I didn't know how much time had passed when I finally calmed down. With red-rimmed eyes and a tear streaked face, I trekked on towards an unknown destination. My memory was getting hazy and it was getting harder to remember why I was even here. Bits and pieces of my parent's last words to me echoed in my brain. _Witch… Monster… Freak of nature… _It was getting harder to remember how everything became so horribly wrong.

The first stars twinkled in the dusking sky as I continued to trudge up the grassy hills of the mountainous terrain.

I felt exhausted.

Even though we were in the middle of summer, the wind was still a lot harsher up in the mountains. The strong breeze chilled my bones as I pushed on in my journey.

I was on the brink of collapse when I saw it.

A tiny hut situated on the plateau up ahead…

A hut in the middle of the mountain…

I didn't stop to question the peculiar setting. My body was drained and my mind was a complete void of anything. I wanted nothing more than to sleep.

I slowly made my way to the inviting cottage but, before I could even reach it, a stab of pain shot through my head. However, this time, it wasn't due to a vision. I looked up to see what had hit me and was surprised to see that stars were falling.

'I'm going insane.' I thought as I stared dumbfounded at this new revelation. I've never seen falling stars before. However, with the state of mind that I was in now, I was willing to believe that I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. This phenomenon probably marked the start of the many symptoms that I would experience through my ordeal.

The place on my head where the star struck me began to throb uncomfortably. Visions of the past swam through my eyes as the world spun away. Images I've never seen before also came into my line of sight. The past, present and future seemed to merge together all at once.

Overcome with nausea, I felt myself fall towards the green Earth.

Then, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 1: The Unexpected Visitor

I awoke to two things in the early night.

One was the reoccurring dream that I constantly had about the day that I first met Howl. The other, was a vision.

Someone had just opened the front door and slipped into the castle.

I lay in bed for a bit, not wanting to leave the cozy confines. Unconsciously, my mind wandered back to the dream that I just had, or rather, the fateful night that I came across Howl.

After I blacked out, I was surprised to find myself in a cozy bed residing inside the cottage. I would never forget the look on Howl's face as my amber eyes focused on him. His crystal blue orbs stared at me with a mix of wonder and curiosity. I soon became acquainted with the fire demon known as Calcifer and it was all history after that.

We clicked like two peas in a pod. He was fascinated with my ability to predict the future while I was fascinated by his studies in magic. We grew up together and he became the only family that I had. It was a weird relationship but it worked.

Shaking my head, I cleared the visions from my reminiscing and decided to go pay a visit to the foreigner. I let out a groan as I forced myself out of bed and slipped on my fluffy white slippers. I walked towards the door then paused as another vision swamped me. Turning, I switched my course of travel towards my closet and whisked out a woolly green blanket. Making my way towards the door I spared my bedroom one last, wary glance then slipped out into the hallway.

The floorboards creaked under me as I silently crept down the stairs. Peering through the banister I saw the old lady from my vision, lying fast asleep in front of the blazing fire. She had on a long blue dress and was wrapped in a red shawl. Walking over to the old grandma I unraveled the blanket and dusted it out before placing it around her body.

As my skin came in contact with her neck, I was wracked with yet another vision. This time, it was of the lady's past. A mental image of the Witch of the Waste flashed in front of my eyes, telling me that this was her doing.

"Ooh, that's one nasty spell." I remarked to myself.

"You can say that again." The fire said, suddenly.

Turning around, I faced the flame and questioned, "Can you break it?"

"Of course I can! What do you take me for? I'm the fire demon, Calcifer, remember?"

I chuckled, "Right you are, but I'm guessing the problem is that you won't break it, will you? Not without something in return."

I knew him too well. He may be a good friend, but he was still a cunning demon.

"Hey, labour doesn't come cheap." Calcifer spat.

"So what did you bargain for in return?" I asked curiously.

"My freedom from Howl." The fire said bitterly then added angrily, "He works me like a slave."

"This curse that you two are in, it's not good for either of you." I said with genuine concern.

"Well, that's why I asked her to help." Calcifer exclaimed as he nodded towards the old lady.

"You told her about the contract?" I asked, mildly surprised.

"Well, yeah, two heads are always better than one." The fire demon retorted.

"True," I agreed, then stated quietly, "I had that dream again."

"The one about Howl?" Calcifer asked for clarification.

"Yeah, it's been coming back to me a lot. I feel like it may help in breaking the contract between you and Howl but I can't remember why it's important. I have this weird feeling that I'm missing a crucial part. But I don't know what it is." I confessed, a troubled expression marring my features.

"Well, you did get hit by a falling star that day. That could be the reason as to why you're missing parts of the memory. Not to mention it wasn't exactly the best day that you had either." The orange flame replied

I laughed, dryly.

The fire demon was right. It wasn't a good day and it wasn't a bad day. It was more of a bittersweet day. Bitter, because I was kicked out of my village by my family but, sweet, because if I hadn't been forced away, I would've never met the one, best thing that ever happened to me – meeting Howl.

Sighing heavily, I responded, "If only there was a way to recover my memories from that day. Maybe then I could be more helpful."

"Lady, you're wishing for a miracle, and let me tell you, those are nearly impossible to come by." Calcifer stated firmly.

"Well, a girl can dream." I said then stifled a yawn.

"You better get to bed," the fire demon advised, "it's going to be a long day tomorrow, trying to come up with an excuse to Howl as to why the grandma's here."

I suppressed a groan of frustration and said, "Don't worry, I'll think of something."

I paused as I turned to look at the old woman who was sound asleep on the wooden chair.

"In the meantime, watch over our guest for me. I have an inkling of a feeling that this woman is going to be very important." I added as an afterthought.

The fire grumbled, "Oh great, as if I don't already do enough work around here," then hesitated for a second and said, "But you're inklings usually turn out to be true so, I won't complain."

"Thanks Calcifer." I smiled and turned to leave, sparing the old lady one last glance.

I called out a goodnight, and made my way up the stairs, into my room and flopped down onto my soft, cushiony bed.

I ran over the events of the evening in my head. Nothing seemed to make any sense to me. My visions and feelings were always like that.

They were nearly impossible to grasp because they weren't permanent. That was the thing with predicting the future. It wasn't set in stone. One choice that you make could change the outcome of everything. For instance, if I never warned my mom all those years ago about the broken stand, then I would have never met Howl and I would have never lived the life that I live now.

Sighing with frustration, I decided not to overthink things. It was useless to waste brainpower on things you couldn't control. I snuggled deeper into my warm blanket and quickly slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Little did I know, that my whole word was about to be turned upside down…


	3. Chapter 2: More Visitors

Insistent knocking woke me from my slumber in the early morning.

'What is it this time?' I thought in annoyance as I stretched and muffled a yawn.

Groaning, I slithered out of bed and threw on a black t-shirt with grey pants.

As I exited my room I crashed right into a kid with brown-orange hair who toppled over from the force of the impact.

"Oof." The boy grunted as he hit the floor.

"Markl!" I exclaimed in surprise, "Are you alright?"

"Ugh… yeah…" Markl moaned as I helped him back up then he added sheepishly, "Sorry, Gwen."

I chuckled, "It's alright, but seriously, you have got to be more careful. If you're not, I'm afraid you might turn into a second Howl."

Markl laughed, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well, it's hard enough trying to deal with just one flamboyant wizard. I don't know how long I'll last with two in the house." I replied jokingly.

"Master Howl isn't that bad, is he?" Markl asked his brown eyes staring innocently up at me.

I was about to answer when the banging on the door sounded once again.

"I'd better get that." I said instead then, made my way down the stairs with Markl bounding along behind me.

"Porthaven door!" Calcifer called as I sped towards the front entrance.

"Hey, who's this lady?" I heard the young boy ask just as I switched the dial to the blue color and opened the wooden porthole.

I was surprised to find myself facing a rather portly man dressed in a black suit with a matching top hat.

"Mr. Mayor!" I greeted, "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, ma'am." The mayor replied then asked formally, "Would the great Wizard Jenkins be at home?"

"I'm terribly sorry but he's not here at the moment. However, I would gladly take a message for him by your leave." I responded politely.

Reaching into his pocket, the politician produced a white envelope with a fancy red seal.

"An invitation from His Majesty the King," the mayor informed as he handed me the letter, then proceeded to explain, "The time for War is upon us. His Majesty requires that every witch and wizard aid our homeland. Wizard Jenkins must report to the palace immediately. That is all."

The man turned to leave as I gently closed the door behind him.

"Great," I mumbled sarcastically, "A war is just what we need."

Turning I walked back up the small flight of stairs that led to the main floor. The old lady that had entered into the castle yesterday was busy stoking the fire.

"I can't believe it's come to this." She said to no one in particular.

"Gwen!" Markl called as I turned to give him my full attention, "Who is she? And how did she get in here?"

I was amused at how skeptical the ginger was being as he eyed her warily.

"Um," I said as I hurriedly fabricated some kind of cover up story, "Markl, meet our new cleaning lady Mrs.…" I trailed off realizing that I had no idea what her name was.

"Uh, you can just call me Grandma Sophie." The old woman replied as she flashed me a look of gratitude.

"Right, Grandma Sophie," I echoed then added, "And as to how she got in here, you're just going to have to ask her yourself."

At this, Markl turned to look expectantly at Sophie.

"Calcifer said that I could come in." the grandma replied cheerily.

"I did not!" the fire demon whined then elaborated, "She just wandered in here from the wastes."

"She's from the wastes?" the boy asked with mild surprise then, questioned suspiciously, "How do we know that she's not a witch?"

Sophie giggled just as Calcifer, who looked quite offended replied, "Do you really think I'd let a witch in here."

"Well, Cal, 5 years ago, you let an apprentice into the house," I said, gesturing to Markl, "The next logical step would be either a witch or a wizard."

Before the fire could retaliate, a tinkle at the door interrupted our conversation.

"Porthaven door, again." Calcifer stated.

"Markl, can you get that please?" I asked as my senses tingled, "I think it's a customer and seeing as you're the apprentice here, it's only natural for you to handle it. Oh and by the way," I added as I handed him the envelope that I received from the mayor, "Give this to Howl when he gets back, I have a lot to teach our new cleaning lady, and I don't think I'll remember."

"Okay." The young boy chirped as he grabbed a blue cloak from the messy table, and pulled the hood down, effectively disguising himself as an old man.

Sophie, who looked genuinely amazed by all this, watched as Markl walked over to the door and swung it open.

Shortly after, a young girl with short, curly brown hair stood in the living room.

I made my way over to the table and began clearing away the many books and quills that littered it. It wasn't that I didn't clean. As a matter of fact, I did most of the cooking and cleaning around here. It was just that there were two of them and only one of me. Howl wasn't exactly the neatest person ever and Markl, well he was just a 10-year-old boy for God's sakes. They were both so absorbed in their studies in magic that none of them ever gave a damn about anything else – personal hygiene included.

Heaving a sigh, I grabbed a couple of silverware and began washing them in the sink.

Glancing behind me, I noticed that Sophie had positioned herself in front of the window and was staring at the view in awe.

Smiling to myself, I turned back around and grabbed a few dirty plates from the sink and began scrubbing them with a soap-covered sponge.

I heard the front door slam shut just as Markl grumbled, "Quit telling lies to our customers!"

"Well, what about you? You're wearing a disguise." Sophie countered.

"I have to," the young boy retorted airily, "I'm practicing my magic."

"Guys, be nice." I chided just as the doorbell chimed again.

"It's the Kingsbury door." Calcifer informed from his hearth.

I rolled my eyes and continued to rinse the plates clean of suds. There was no doubt that it was another messenger here to prattle on about the war.

Once I had finished with the dishes, I made my way over to the dining table and set the clean stack of porcelain down, along with several forks, knives and spoons.

I peered over at the door just in time to see a fancy, burgundy-coloured automobile drive away.

Grabbing the plate of bacon, a basket of eggs and a frying pan, I stalked over to the fire and grinned widely at him.

"Let's make some breakfast." I said happily.


	4. Chapter 3: Breakfast

With a bit of struggling, resisting, and a few colourful remarks, I finally got Calcifer to collaborate.

This wasn't the first time that I had manned the fire. As I said before, I did most of the chores around here, cooking included. The thing was, only Howl could get the fire demon's full cooperation. The only reason that I could get the fire to work with me was because I've known him for so long. Fighting with him 3 times a day for 12 years could be really exhausting. Overtime, a weird kind of love-hate relationship built between us. Now, very minimal quarreling was required to get him to obey my commands. Granted it wasn't as easy for me as it was for Howl, but in the long run, the relationship worked.

"Wow, it smells amazing!" Markl exclaimed as he rushed over to my side.

I heard the turn of the dial and the opening of the door.

"There's nothing like bacon and eggs in the morning." I hummed in agreement as I cracked open an eggshell then said to the fire, "Hey Calcifer, open wide."

I threw the white casings into the orange flames as he swallowed it in contentment.

The sound of the door closing shut was heard. This was immediately followed by the sound of the dial turning and the door swinging open once again.

"Hey, Markl," I asked graciously as an image of the black portal came to mind, "Could you go and make sure that Sophie doesn't get too carried away."

Muttering something that sounded an awful lot like 'stupid grandma', the young boy hurried on over to the door.

"Sophie!" I called out a few seconds after I heard the door close, "Could you come here for a minute. I have to show you how to use the fire."

"What? No!" Calcifer shouted as his head poked out from under the pan, "I'm not taking any orders from her. Putting up with you and Howl is enough. I don't need more people bossing me around."

Completely ignoring the fire demon, I waved for the old lady to come over.

"Now, the trick is to be persistent and cunning. The more force you use, the better. You sort of have to bully him into it," I explained as Sophie nodded in comprehension, then handing the pan to her I said, "Here you try."

Just as the old lady grabbed the cooking ware, Calcifer exploded.

"I don't cook!" the fire yelled, "I'm a scary and powerful fire demon!" Then pulling a face he stuck out his long wispy tongue, childishly blowing a raspberry.

"How would you like a bucket of cold water in your face?" the grandma threatened then whispered deviously, "or maybe I should tell Howl about our bargain?"

At this Calcifer retreated and grimaced, "Oh stupid me, I never should have let her in here."

Taking the fire's distraction, Sophie forced the pan onto the embers, successfully ceasing anymore complaints from the demon.

"That's it, be a good fire," I chided Calcifer then turning to the old lady, I patted her on the back and complimented, "You're a natural."

"Here's another curse, may all your bacon burn. Especially yours Gwen, this was all your fault." The fire muttered angrily.

"Oh, come now Calcifer, it's not that bad." I reasoned as I left to join Markl at the table.

"I think I'd like some tea," Sophie mused then asked, "Do you have a kettle?"

"Sure." Markl responded as he hopped off the chair he was residing in.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Calcifer complained from his hearth, "Don't get the kettle. Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Oh, Markl, while you're at it, could you get the bread and cheese?" I called out, entirely brushing off the fire demon's comments.

"Yup." The boy chirped.

Just then, a slight twinge in my head caused me to cringe in discomfort as an image of a certain blue-eyed magician zapped across my mind.

"Howl's back!" I informed just as the dial spun to the black colour and the door opened, revealing a tired looking blonde wizard.

"Master Howl," Markl greeted eagerly, "The King's messengers were here. They said you had to report to the palace as both Pendragon and Jenkins."

Hardly sparing his apprentice a glance, the wizard continued to climb up the small flight of concrete stairs and headed straight for the unfamiliar face.

"Calcifer, you're being so obedient." Howl stated, a tone of amusement lining his voice.

The fire poked his head out from under the pan and whined, "Not on purpose! Gwen made me!"

"Not just anyone can do that." The wizard replied as he glanced over at me with an unreadable expression.

I smiled at him sheepishly.

Turning to the aged stranger, Howl inquired, "And you are who?"

"Uh, you can just call me Grandma Sophie," the old woman said then added, "I'm your new cleaning lady. I just started work today."

"Give that to me," Howl instructed as he forced Sophie aside and took over the pan, "Hand me two more slices of that bacon, and six more of those eggs."

The grandma did as she was told as I watched her closely. There was definitely something about her. I just couldn't quite understand what yet.

"So then, who hired you to clean?" The blonde asked as he cracked another egg shell.

"I did." I interjected and Howl cocked his ears towards me as I elaborated, "I needed another pair of hands. Dealing with you two magicians is already hard enough. Cleaning up after you two is just becoming a nightmare. I figured that with someone else to help me, I could get work done faster."

"Hmm." The wizard hummed in understanding then asked irrelevantly, "Gwen, did you get the plates?"

"Yup." I beamed then added, "And I washed the silverware too."

"That's my girl." Howl praised as he brought the sizzling pan over.

I rolled my eyes at his vain comment and proceeded to pass the plates around the table.

"Wait a second – you're all going to eat while I do all the work?" Calcifer fumed.

"Come have some breakfast, Sophie." Markl called, completely ignoring the fire, as he brought over a yellow kettle.

"Here, have a seat." I supplied as I pulled out the wooden chair that was situated beside me.

Grabbing the kettle, I poured the steaming tea into 4 awaiting cups and distributed them to each person while Howl sliced the bread.

"Bread Markl?" Howl asked.

"Thanks." The apprentice said as he took the slice.

"Sophie?" the wizard inquired while handing her a piece.

"Yes, thank you." The old lady replied with gratitude.

"Gwen?" the blonde questioned as he turned to me.

As our eyes met, I felt a wave of emotion wash over my body. This wasn't anything exceptionally new. As a matter of fact, it had started happening a lot recently. I couldn't quite understand these new feelings that I felt when I was with him. All I knew was that, it was different from before. I had no idea what spurred this change but whatever it was, I had better deal with it fast. The race against time to break Howl's curse was already nerve wracking enough. Not to mention, this war that was raging on was just adding more fuel to the rapidly growing fire. I couldn't afford another catalyst. Not now at least.

"Gwen?" Howl repeated as he stared at me, his cerulean orbs filling with concern.

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah, thanks." I said quickly as I accepted the wedge of bread.

His eyes lingered on me for a couple of seconds and I was surprised to find that I couldn't read the expression in it. Normally, he was like an open book to me. I mean, we've known each other for so long, so it was kind of hard not to know what he was thinking. Lately however, I noticed that there was something different about him. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"So friends," Howl said, pulling me from my thoughts, "Enjoy, bon appetite!"

"Bon appetite." Markl echoed then said, "Man I'm starving."

The apprentice then began inhaling the eggs and bacon.

"Even the manners are a mess in this house." Sophie stated disdainfully as she watched the young boy shove a morsel of egg into his mouth, licking his thumb in the process.

Just as the old woman was about to dig into her meal, Howl spoke up.

"So, what do you have hidden in your pocket, Sophie?" the wizard asked, his pale blue eyes sparkling with interest.

"Huh?" the lady asked in surprise, dropping the egg that was perched precariously on her spoon in the process.

Reaching into her pocket Sophie produced a red piece of paper that was folded neatly in half.

"What is this?" the aged woman asked in astonishment.

"It's a message." I replied instantaneously just as an image of a particular enchantress floated to mind, "It's from the Witch of the Waste."

"Give it to me." the blonde demanded.

"Howl, be careful." I cautioned, just as Sophie reached her hand out to give the wizard the note.

Suddenly, the red paper burst into flames and fluttered to the table, branding it with black designs.

Markl gasped and said solemnly, "Scorch marks! Howl, can you read them?"

"That is ancient is sorcery," the wizard explained, "Quite powerful too."

"What's it say?" Markl asked, curiosity flashing in his chocolate orbs.

"You who swallowed a falling star, oh heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me," Howl read then said thoughtfully, "That can't be good for the table."

Putting his hand on the burn marks, he slid his palm across the table and inch by inch, the message began to disappear.

We all watched transfixed as Howl rubbed the inscription off like it was nothing more than a mere drop of water.

"Wow, it's gone." Markl exclaimed as he leaned in to examine the spot where the scorches once resided.

Sure enough, there, in its place was nothing more but the same old wood that adorned the rest of the table.

"The mark may be gone, but the spell is still there," Howl clarified then standing up he said hurriedly, "Excuse me, my friends, please continue your meal."

Walking over to the hearth, the wizard dumped his breakfast into the fire and instructed, "Calcifer, move the castle 60 miles to the west."

We all watched as Howl strode briskly up the stairs, then poking his head over the railing he added, "And while you're at it, make hot water for my bath."

"Fine," the demon grumbled, "Like moving the castle isn't hard enough."

"Oh come off it Cal," I called to him, "it's nothing new."

"Easy for you to say," the fire spat, "you're not the one doing the work."

"Speaking of work… you're not working for the witch of the waste are you?" Markl asked Sophie, a look of suspicion working its way on to his face.

Sophie, who seemed to be taken aback by such a question, yelled angrily, "I would never work for that witch! She's the one who…" At this point her mouth seemed to glue together as she struggled to get the words out.

"Nasty side effect of the spell." I whispered to the young apprentice as we watched her try to unclamp her lips.

A vision wormed its way into my head and I quickly grabbed my breakfast off the table.

"Watch your plate." I advised Markl and he hurriedly whisked it away just before the old woman slammed her fists on top of the surface, causing a few items too fall over.

Growling with frustration Sophie screamed, "If I ever get my hands on that witch, I'm going to wring her fat neck."

Sitting back down, the old woman began spooning her food into her mouth vigorously.

Placing our breakfast back on the table, we continued our meal in silence.

Nobody wanted to piss off the old lady.

Not with that murderous look on her face.

_'My God, if she could silence us with just one look, imagine what she could do with a broom.'_


End file.
